Untied Laces
by 13th Dead End
Summary: The six apprentices' gradual descent into darkness... and how Vexen came to be. [No pairings]
1. Chapter 1

The Radiant Garden. A perfect utopia, where the people walked with smiles upon their faces, spirits soared, and the sun always shone. The garden pathways of the courtyard, made of an inviting cobblestone, wound gently through thickets of exotic and beautiful flowers. The amazing monochromatic colors played tricks on the eyes at first sight; the small trickling streams of pure water were clear as crystal.

Entering into the grand halls made of limestone and marble, one would come eventually to a large steel door; this door separated the underground laboratories from the rest of the world. A winding set of metal steps would lead to an hallway, placed beneath the gardens. If one turned right at a particular corner in this hallway, they would find themselves at the door to a peculiar room; the odd circular office that belonged to Ansem the Wise.

But for the sake of our story, we direct our attention in the opposite direction from Ansem's office. To the left, there was a grand laboratory, ceilings amazingly high for being this deep underground, fluorescent lights filling the room with an oddly tinted light. Beakers, test tubes, petri dishes, and containers were scattered across three tables at the far end of the room, completely clean at the end of the workday. Along the next wall was a series of strange contraptions - large, long tubes glowing with a pale blue light, mounted on a base of a contrasting dark blue color. Inside each of the containers floated around a captive heart; no doubt wrested from the Heartless that Xenahort had snuck past the doors without Ansem's permission. Monitors flashed messages at the vacant room from another couple of desks, computers left running through the night and chairs untucked so the owners could rush in and get straight to work the next day.

In the corner of the room was another small door, this one leading off to what appeared to be a common study. Six desks lined up in rows of three, each with identical lamps and chairs, were placed in the center of the room. At the head of the room, in the place where a teacher would stand if it was a classroom, was a corkboard, various notes, reminders, and observations pinned to it by the scientists. Dilan's messy and thick handwriting, and Ienzo's extremely neat print were pushed into the background of the board as most of the papers tacked there tonight belonged to Even; quick and scratchy notes to himself.

The walls were lined with posters and hand-drawn diagrams of the heart; a long list of experiment rules by Ansem, and photographs of Heartless, some old and crinkled with age, some fresh and new. The ceiling light was clicked off.

But there was one person still there tonight. One of the desks in the corner was still occupied, it's lamp buzzing with a slight static as it spilled light over the many documents littering Even's desk. The man aformentioned sat straight in his chair, idly brushing his fingers over a fat textbook as his eyes travelled down a long report. The bright green eyes were still wide open, bright, and hungry for knowelege as the small clock on his desk ticked past eleven PM. The young scientist brushed strands of blonde hair away from his face and leaned back; he had finally finished reading the essay over for the fifth time, but his brain felt like it wasn't accepting the facts very well.

Even straightened the collar on his white lab coat, plucked a pencil from the small container beside his lamp, and grabbed a fresh sheet of paper. His pencil was a fraction of a millimeter away from the paper when he stopped, and looked up.

The door at the other end of the room, which led to the scientist's lounge, had just opened a crack. A line of white light spilled out of the space made and travelled across the dark floor, then grew wider until the figure of Ienzo stepped out from the common room. Even looked up at the youngest apprentice. Ienzo, still a very young man just past his teenage years. The "kid" as Braig liked to joke about him, fooled everyone by appearance; silvery-blue hair swept cleanly out of his blue eyes, and innocent expression made him look much younger and less intelligent than he really was. Even knew much better than to judge a person by first glance, and he gladly acknowledged how astute Ienzo was - and then again he was pretty sure the youngest apprentice has many secrets he did not reveal to them.

Ienzo cocked his head slightly at the blonde.

"Even. You've stayed late... you know how Ansem gets angry about us staying after hours."

Even gave a smile and a sort of half-nod.

"Yes, I do know that... but I had something to finish, and I simply couldn't leave it until the next day... too intriguing." he murmured the last two words quietly.

Ienzo closed the door slightly behind him, white glow from the lights diminishing slightly. Even could then see he was clutching a white mug; he had probably been making himself some tea.

"Why did you stay late, Ienzo? I thought you went home, as the rest." he asked curiously.

"I..." the apprentice started, looking into the caramel-colored depths of his drink, before replying, "I got sidetracked reading in the lounge." He then gave a wide, reasurring smile.

"Ah, I see." Even murmured, pushing back his chair and getting to his feet. He gathered the papers on his desk into a pile and close his textbooks, then replaced his pencil and turned off the lamp. The room was instantly plunged into shadow as he did so. The academic observed Ienzo's outline twitch slightly at the darkness, his eyes moving around warily before he made a quick move back into the light of the lounge.

Even followed him, stepping into the light room and blinking furiously at the brightness. The room contained a coffee table; two squishy couches, an overstuffed armchair, and a small gas fireplace. At the other end of the room was a small utility kitchen; and Ienzo stood there, putting away his empty mug into the sink.

Even sighed, and collapsed onto one of the couches near the fire. In a moment, Ienzo had brought him a cup of black coffee, which he accepted gratefully. The young apprentice sat on the other end of the couch from him, pulling his legs up to meet his chin and gazing softly at him as if expecting critique.

The older man didn't say anything, but sipped his drink in silence. The clock on the wall above the fireplace was ticking nearer and nearer to midnight.

"Ienzo, maybe we should return home.. Master Ansem will be angry if he finds that we stayed..."

Ienzo nodded.

"You go. I'm... staying here for tonight."

"Why?"

"I don't want to face the dark rooms..."

"Understandable. I'll turn the lights on for you, so you can pass."

Ienzo gave a dull nod, watching him as he set his cup down on the kitchen table and departed back to the dark study. There was a part of him that feared a darkness... but there was a growing part in the back of his mind, like a tumor, that revered it.


	2. Chapter 2

Even awoke the next day with a certain stupor; thoughts of the previous night and what he would do today interlacing in his mind. He struggled out of bed and readied himself for another day at the laboratory, then took a moment to look at his reflection in a large rectangular mirror in his bathroom. There were definite circles beginning to form beneath his eyes, results of his recent bout of late-night work. He caught himself beginning to stare into the depths of his own eyes, then blinked and shook the strange sensation away. Pulling on the white labcoat he wore to work daily, Even made his way out the door into the sunlit streets.

He was lost to his own thoughts quickly and was not even aware of the fact that his own feet carried him to the Radiant Garden, and he was halfway down the cobblestone pathway when he noticed a rather large body obstructing his passage.

"Elaeus." he stated, looking up at the tall man casting him into shadow. "Good morning."

Elaeus turned around, looking slightly surprised to see Even there. He was roughly just about Even's age; perhaps a little younger, but he had the appearance of being slightly older. Short brown hair was pulled back into a neat hairstyle, and Even saw him plaster a quick grin onto his face.

"Morning, Even." he replied, blue eyes shining in the morning light. "Fine day.. isn't it?"

Even raised an eyebrow. It's one of those things - when hear a person start to mention _the weather_, you know they're definately up to something, or trying to avoid a serious topic of conversation.

"Fine like every other." he replied airily with the wave of a hand. This was certainly neoteric behavior for the man. "Why are you here this early in the morning?"

Elaeus hesitated and glanced quickly around the garden as if looking for intruders.

"I just wanted to get ahead on... certain things."

"Certain things? ... Oh right, by the way, did Xenahort mention if Ansem accepted our research proposal or not?"

"He did. Ansem forbids us to continue with the experimentation."

"What?! But we've got everything worked out - it's going to work, I know it is.."

Elaeus sighed and gave a slight shrug.

"He refuses. We are to discard all results and cease future developments."

"But _why?_"

"They're too dangerous, apparently.. I don't know.. I didn't hear much.. Xenahort seems very angry, you know how he worked on this.."

Even rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a moment, then shrugged. Xenahort had lost his own memories; and thirsted to find them. He volunteered himself a test subject to Ansem's research - it was nearly impossible to believe that he would surrender willingly now.

With a little difficulty, he made his way past Elaeus and back to the underground laboratory. Ienzo was at one of the computers, staring blankly at the screen with his face cradled in a hand. His eyes were slightly out of focus, and he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. Even walked past, and he made no reaction, so the older scientist surmised he wouldn't say anything as well. It was oddly quiet today...

As he turned the knob to enter into the study, he could hear a quiet murmur of voices; but as he entered the voices ceased to whisper as everyone in the room looked to him. Xenahort, Braig, and Dilan were inside, Xenahort standing at the front of the room and looking exceptionally stern. Braig, being his more casual self, was leaning back in his chair and resting a foot on his desk. He gave a smile and a small wave to Even as he entered, while Dilan just gave the smallest of nods.

"Even. I surmise you have heard Master Ansem's verdict on our situation?" said Xenahort just as Even had started to speak, seeming oddly calm.

"I have. It is preposterous." Even muttered back under his breath.

Xenahort gave a simple nod of agreement.

"Yes, it is... I have decided we shall continue the experiments."

Even could not pretend he was surprised at these words, as if a sliver of him had known this all along. He just nodded dully.

"Without permission?"

"Yes. We will have to keep well hidden so we are not discovered. If Master Ansem finds us, he will use force to stop us. We have done too much to terminate the experiments now."

"Why this change of heart in Master Ansem?"

Xehanort rubbed his forehead, loosening some stress. So much patience was drained with Even's questions.

"That rat... a King. From another world. King Mickey... he convinced Master Ansem that his experiments were unethical.."

Dilan's glower hardened, but Braig just blinked.

"Ethical?" questioned Braig, toying with a strand of long black hair.

Even turned to face him, growling.

"Not the must functional, are you?" he snapped at the middle aged scientist.

Braig made a rather pouty face, swivelling his chair away from Even slightly.

"It was a rhetorical question, dolt. Wondering aloud. 'Ethical' really depends on your point of view."

Even rolled his eyes, turning to leave the study again. "Rhetorical or not, I don't wish to speak about this anymore. And don't let Mister Ethical there think or do too much, he might hurt himself."

Braig had opened his mouth to throw an insult back but Even had already closed the door behind him. His minds were churning... that was the first time they had argued. Over anything. The six scientists had always worked together in such perfect harmony...

Ienzo was asleep over his keyboard.

Something was breaking apart. Their fate was sealed.


End file.
